| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu
former: New Hebrides |
| Capital: |
Port-Vila (Efate) |
| Location: |
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
16 00 S, 167 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 12,200 sq km
land: 12,200 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes more than 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly larger than Connecticut |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
2,528 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate: |
tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April |
| Terrain: |
mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
manganese, hardwood forests, fish |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
parliamentary republic |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba |
| Independence |
30 July 1980 (from France and UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 30 July (1980) |
| Constitution: |
30 July 1980 |
| Legal
System; |
unified system being created from former dual French and British systems |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Kalkot Matas KELEKELE (since 16 August 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Ham LINI (since 11 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Sato KILMAN (since 11 December 2004); Prime Minister Serge VOHOR ousted in no-confidence vote on 11 December 2004
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils; election for president last held 16 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 29 July 2004 (next to be held following general elections in 2008)
election results: Kalkot Matas KELEKELE elected president, with 49 votes out of 56, after several ballots on 16 August 2004 |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2004 (next to be held 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 8, VP 8, NUP 10, VRP 4, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 16; note - political party associations are fluid
note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [leader NA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]; Vanuatu Greens Party (VGP) [Moana CARCASSES] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
205,754 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 33.3% (male 35,039/female 33,553)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 66,311/female 63,502)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 3,878/female 3,471) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 22.64 years
male: 22.68 years
female: 22.59 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
| Ethnic groups: |
indigenous Melanesian 98%, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, other Pacific Islanders |
| Religions: |
Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other 15.7% (including Jon Frum Cargo cult) |
| Languages: |
three official languages: English, French, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama), plus more than 100 local languages |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
6,500 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
7,800 (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
1 (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.vu |
| Internet hosts: |
512 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
7,500 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 1,070 km
paved: 256 km
unpaved: 814 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,192,474 GRT/1,560,828 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 16, container 1, liquefied gas 2, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 5
foreign-owned: 52 (Australia 2, Canada 5, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Israel 1, Japan 25, New Zealand 1, Poland 11, Russia 1, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, United States 1)
registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
| Airports: |
30 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1524 to 2437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 27
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
